Abstract
***Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine the relationships between strategic manufacturing capabilities, particularly whether they are cumulative or trade-off in nature.
***Design/methodology/approach – Uses statistical analyses, particularly structural equation modelling based on data from the third round of the International Manufacturing Strategy Survey.
***Findings – Finds mostly cumulative effects between the strategic capabilities. Shows that “quality” is a basis for “delivery”, which is a basis for “flexibility” and “cost”; between “flexibility” and “cost” an unclear relationship is found. Whether “flexibility” and “cost” are pursued exclusively or simultaneously seems to be connected with the implementation of certain improvement programmes.
***Research limitations/implications – Results cannot be interpreted in a prescriptive way, but only as descriptive findings stemming from a large empirical database. Future research in this area needs to be extended by longitudinal analyses and simulation studies because cross-sectional analyses can only provide indirect empirical measures of dynamic changes of capabilities.
***Practical implications – Describes a common pattern of capability accumulation in the industries investigated. This information can be used to estimate potential competitor behaviour or as a way to perform in an innovative manner.
***Originality/value – Offers a clear conceptualisation of strategic capabilities with the help of an empirical study.
